Chicago Fire FC tied Club Puebla 1-1 at SeatGeek Stadium on Monday night to advance to the Leagues Cup 2023 Round of 32. Due to the match finishing in a tie, the two teams went to kicks from the penalty spot that went to 10 rounds before Puebla prevailed to earn the extra point.
With the result, Chicago finishes atop Group Central 2 with four points and will host Club América, who finished in second place in Group Central 1 with three points.
The Fire started with energy and began attacking from the outset, getting a dangerous opportunity in the third minute. A miscleared ball fell to Gastón Giménez at the top of the box and he sent in a low pass for Fabian Herbers who hit a one-time shot that goalkeeper Jesús Rodríguez reacted to swat and redirect. The ball hit the underside of the crossbar before bouncing back out onto the field and eventually being cleared of danger.
Midfielder Jairo Torres replaced Fabian Herbers at halftime and immediately put the team on the offensive as Shaqiri sent a long ball up from midfielder that the young Mexican brought down and directed toward goal. With a defender on him, Torres held the ball before managing a shot that J. Rodríguez directed wide left of the net.
Chicago appeared to get the go-ahead goal in the 66th minute when Homegrown midfielder Brian Gutiérrez entered the match and just one minute later had a goal called offside.
Puebla responded with a goal in the 74th minute when a miscommunication by the Fire defense left Brayan Angulo with time and space outside for a mid-range shot that went into the upper left corner. Three minutes later, Puebla’s Carlos Baltazar was sent off from the match with a red card. On the ensuing free kick in the 79th minute, Shaqiri sent a low, driven ball that was deflected slightly enough to catch J. Rodríguez wrong-footed, where he could only watch the goal roll into the left side of the goal to tie the game.
NEXT MATCH: The Fire advance to the Round of 32 in Leagues Cup 2023 and will face Liga MX side Club América on Friday, August 4 at SeatGeek Stadium. Additional information on kick off time, broadcast information and tickets to be announced.
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Notes:
- Chicago Fire FC Head Coach Frank Klopas made four changes to the starting XI that earned three points against Minnesota United on July 27 at Allianz Field.
- Xherdan Shaqiri donned the captain’s armband against Puebla, and scored his second goal of Leagues Cup 2023.
- Ivorian midfielder Ousmane Doumbia made his first start in a Fire shirt. The skillful midfielder played his first minutes for the Chicago Fire against Minnesota after joining the team from sister club FC Lugano earlier this month.
- Goalkeeper Chris Brady returned to the net for his first taste of Leagues Cup 2023 action.
Box Score:
Chicago Fire FC 1 (9) : (10) 1 Club Puebla
Penalty kicks:
Chicago Fire: Czichos (saved), Shaqiri (scored), Gutiérrez (scored), Przybyłko (scored), Pineda (scored), Aceves (scored), Torres (scored), Doumbia (scored), Terán (scored), Brady (scored), Czichos (missed)
Puebla: Mancuello (scored), Álvarez (saved), Barragan (scored), Ferrareis (scored), Angulo (scored), Silva (scored), Velasco (scored), Olmedo (scored), González (scored), I. Rodríguez (scored), Mancuello (scored)
Goals:
PUE - Angulo (WATCH) 74’
CHI - Shaqiri (WATCH) 79’
Discipline:
PUE - de Buen (Yellow Card) 52’
CHI - Terán (Yellow Card) 71’
PUE - Baltazar (Red Card - Ejection) 77’
CHI - Brady (Yellow Card) 90+3’
Chicago Fire FC: GK Brady, D Souquet (Dean, 66’), D Terán, D Pineda, D Aceves, M Doumbia, M Giménez, M Haile-Selassie, (M Gutiérrez, 66’) M Shaqiri (capt.), M Herbers (Torres, 46’), F Koutsias (Przybyłko, 66’)
Subs not used: GK Gal, GK Richey, D Burks, D Czichos, D M. Navarro, M Monis, M F. Navarro, F M. Rodríguez
Club Puebla: GK Rodríguez, D Olmedo, M de Buen (González, 61’) , M Álvarez, M Arce (Baltazar, 61’), M Mancuello (capt.), F Martínez, D L. García (Ferrareis, 61’), M Robles (Velasco, 72’), D Silva, D Angulo
Subs not used: GK Gómez, GK Fraga, M Orona, M Herrera, M Aguilar, M Zago, F Barragán, F E. García
Stats Summary: CHI / PUE
Shots: 21 / 14
Shots on Goal: 9 / 5
Saves: 4 / 7
Passing Accuracy: 85.0% / 84.3%
Corners: 14 / 7
Fouls: 12 / 10
Offsides: 1 / 2
Possession: 48% / 52%
Attendance: 12,169
Referee: Jesús Rafael López Valle
Assistant Referees: Michel Alejandro Morales Morales, Oscar Yahir Barriga Castro
Fourth Official: Randy Encarnación Solano
VAR: Benjamin Pineda
Assistant VAR: Jorge Abraham Camacho Peregrina
Chicago Fire FC Head Coach Frank Klopas
On advancing to the Leagues Cup Round of 32...
"Look, I think that was a really good game. I think both sides, they came out with really good energy. I think both teams played, I think you could just see by the reaction of the fans, and I think you can appreciate that both teams put a lot into the game, created a lot of opportunities. The game was exciting on both ends. So that was fun. And then obviously it was great for us, you know, finishing first in a group. It's always great being at home, that was one, very important for us, not to be able to travel.
And then, you know, you're playing Club América here, like I told the guys, it's going to feel probably like we're in Azteca playing them. But it doesn't matter, it's great to play Puebla today and then obviously América, really, teams with good quality and should be a fun match."
On improvements to be made on set pieces...
"I think we worked on stuff but it's still, you have to give credit to the other team also for defending well. You know, it's not just the personnel you have in there. Regardless of Kei [Kamara], Kacper's [Przybyłko] a big target, [Georgios] Koutsias attacks the space really well, but when he's not there, we still have really big guys. But they defended extremely well. We still created a lot of good opportunities. We had almost, you know, expected goals, almost three, which was great to see. And we just couldn't, we scored one offsides, I have to look at that one again, really tight, I think. Anyway, it's just an exciting game, but that's something we work on. You still have to give credit to Puebla for defending that really well."
On Ousmane Doumbia's first start...
"I thought he was excellent. Really good energy and this is the first game that he's played 90 minutes in a while, so he's just going to be sharper. I really like his – without the ball – his discipline. You know, he's a really disciplined player. He knows, he reads the game extremely well. In the short time that we have worked, he's picked stuff up pretty, really quick. And then with the ball, he has really good ability, timing of his passes, he plays the ball really quick, he sees things really quick, he's already made a decision before the ball comes. I thought he was excellent, he's going to continue to improve and he's just a great addition for our team."
On the challenge of facing Mexican teams...
"Thank you for the question. I mean, it's exciting. I mean, playing Puebla tonight, you can just see the energy level and it was great for our fans. Obviously, there were a lot of Puebla fans over here, but also the Fire fans – it's good to see a different opponent.
Again, with América, me – myself as a coach – I faced them before, many years, when I was coaching in Montréal in the Concacaf final. It wasn't a happy ending for me back then, but it was always great to play a club like América, especially playing them in Azteca and at home in Montréal, so it should be exciting. I know they've played here before in the past, América, so we're looking forward to it. It's gonna be exciting Friday night. Hopefully the stadium is packed and you know that they see two really good teams competing and playing well."
On the Club's shootout performance...
"Yeah, I mean, I think even with [Rafael Czichos], normally, he's spot on and the PK's when he takes them. When it gets to a certain point, I felt that everyone came up with confidence. Maybe he came a little bit late, maybe not being in the game and stuff like that. But, you know, I relied a lot on them for him. And, you know, every time we've been doing it in training, he's been spot on. A little bit surprised that he shot right down in the middle of the first one. But look, he's the leader, he's the captain, everyone else has stepped up and you know, just buried the – and then it gets to a point where it's, you know, the goalkeeper makes a save or someone tries to hit a little too close to the corner like it happened and there was the ending. But I felt everyone just stepped up with confidence. I have to see now, rethink about maybe the order going into it again. But I still have confidence in Rafa, he will be in there."
Chicago Fire FC Defender Mauricio Pineda
On the team’s performance tonight…
“I thought we played pretty well for the most part, I thought we could have been cleaner, offensively, to take care of some chances, half-chances that we had. I think with that, we could have been up in the game, then we give up a goal and then we're chasing the game. I think we did well to get back into the game and then tie it. Some good moments towards the end of the game, too, kept pushing. I'm sure the fans could appreciate that. So we're happy with the effort, unfortunate to lose in PK’s but like you said, top of the group so we're looking forward to Friday.”
On the crowd atmosphere tonight at SeatGeek Stadium…
“It was nice. It was loud. We heard them, you heard them having their own competition out there. I would hear Fire and then the Puebla fans started screaming so yeah, it was good. It was a good atmosphere to play in. And yeah, it was an exciting game. Glad we got enough to get top of the group.”
Chicago Fire FC Goalkeeper Chris Brady
On topping the group and advancing to the next group…
“Ultimately, the goal for this game was to advance to the next round and top the group, which is what we did. For us it's a job well done and preparing for Friday.”
On shooting his first career penalty…
“What was going through my head was just do what I practiced and execute really. In the back of my mind, it was just, ‘keep calm, don’t let anything get in your head.’”
On handling the emotions of the game and moving onto Club América…
“Yeah, that we’re hyped for. In terms of this game, I think the guys are pretty easily putting it aside. The main thing for us is that we advance and top the group which is what we did. We’re really good at flipping the switch and prepping for the next game on Friday against América. We’re ready.”
On his personal assessment of his performance during the penalty kicks…
“I’m not going to say much about the first PK that I saved because you guys can see for yourself what everybody else saw, what I saw and what I think. But yeah, for me to reset is hard, I was able to – because you saw that second one. Same thing. But I mean, you guys see it all on camera, you guys see what happened and you guys see what the refs are doing. I’m not going to talk too much about that.”
On Xherdan Shaqiri’s recent form over the past few games…
“That hypes me up, for sure. After he scored I was pretty hyped, but for the whole team. It gives us a confidence boost that you know, he’s feeling himself and he’s cooking and he’s looking to dice people with his passing and his shooting. He’s back. It definitely gives us all a bit of confidence.”